back pain during incline bench exercises

[6rings]

for some reason i am experiencing pain when i do incline flys or incline bench in my rhomboid/trapezius area (is that what its called?) specifically, a little above the middle of my back and to the left a bit. i am fairly confident it is muscular because when i push on the muscle it hurts. does anyone have any idea what im talking about? and how can i do incline benching without it? i experience no pain whatsoever with any other exercises.

[6rings]

anyone?

I'm stumped, but as a shot in the dark it could be that your form may be off on the incline stuff. Do you have a partner or trainer who can watch and see if you are doing anything wrong?

[.V.]

Well on all benching exercises you use the lats to assist with the movement. The wider you grip the bar, the more lats you use. Using dumbells, you may be getting wide at some point in the movement and using the lats more than you realize. Guess where the lats attach?? Right where you are describing your pain.

I get the same thing when I bench and I use a bar exclusively to keep my form correct. Besides, I'm afraid of the dumbells - I dumped a 70lb adjustable on my chest pointy end first once and broke two ribs.

[Bulwark]

Lats don't assist in pressing moves...it's an antagonist. The problem is probably a form issue. Next time you bench, pull your shoulder blades together. It'll feel strange but it helps to keeo your torso stable and prevent anything else from moving while you press.

[CF-OC_gal]

I'm not sure if what I get is the same as what you are talking about but I can only do dumbell inclines once my weights start to go up.

I get a nagging pain right near my spine between the shoulder blades. It always happens no matter what incline angle or grip width I use and always with a barbell. When it first happened I went to a chiropractor to see what was wrong. She did X-rays and saw that I have a slight scoliosis in that area, probably from a fall when I was a kid (I had many 'good ones'). She tried her 'magic' on it but it only made things worse in the gym for me. Using dumbells only for inclines was my solution.

See if changing up your grip or bar or the incline helps.

[.V.]

Originally Posted by Bulwark

Lats don't assist in pressing moves...

Lats pull yes, but they also push. Squeezing the blades together is a great tip. Get a wide grip to get the lats into the movement.